Chapter 13

“Mom, is this really for dinner?”

Isn’t it like New Year’s?

No, even during New Year we don’t get fine flour pancakes to eat.

Shuiqing had already found a reason, “The first meal in the new house should have a new atmosphere! Come, first go to the spring pool and wash your hands clean, everyone has a share.”

The five little ones took a deep breath and happily ran off to wash their hands.

After all, they were just children, the oldest being no more than eleven years old. Who could resist delicious food?

Fan Jin watched the joyful children, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

He didn’t follow the children to wash his hands but first put away the mushrooms and grain he had picked.

Looking at the slightly fuller sack than before, his eyes deepened for a moment before he shook his head and smiled faintly.

After organizing the grass the children had cut earlier, he went to the spring to wash his hands thoroughly.

When he returned, he saw a big one and five small ones holding rough pottery bowls in their right hands and white flour pancakes in their left hands, looking at him with bright, expectant eyes.

There was no table, so the seven of them sat around a knee-high large stone.

“Why haven’t you eaten?” he asked softly.

“Dad, Mom said we should eat together as a family!” The youngest, Fan Hu, eagerly repeated Shuiqing’s words.

Fan Jin’s smile deepened even more.

He smoothed the hem of his long robe and sat in the empty space by the large stone left specifically for him.

On the large stone in front of him was a bowl of egg drop soup with more eggs than gourds, and in the middle of the bamboo basket were more than ten fine white flour pancakes.

Looking at the bowl full of eggs, he naturally thought his wife and children had saved it for him, not wanting to eat it themselves.

Pressing his lips together, he said to his two daughters beside him, “Yan Qiu, Xing Hui, Dad has too many eggs in his bowl, I can’t finish them, let me share some with you.”

“No need, Dad, look at the eggs in our bowls, we have even more!” Fan Xing Hui said excitedly.

It was her first time seeing so many eggs!

In the past, her elder sister did the cooking, but precious foods like eggs were always hidden in Grandma’s room.

Even on holidays or occasional special days, Grandma would take them out and cook them herself, never letting her elder sister touch them.

When they were ready, she and her elder sister never got a share. Even the eggless soup wasn’t for them; only Dad and their three brothers ate the eggs.

And the brothers only got a thin slice each.

Fan Yan Qiu, holding her rough pottery bowl and looking at the eggs covering the gourds inside, said to her Dad with a nasal tone, “Dad, look, so many eggs, you don’t need to share your portion with me and little sister anymore.”

In the past, Dad would share his portion with her and little sister, but it made Grandma unhappy.

Dad was always disliked by Grandma, and she and little sister were a big part of the reason.

Fan Jin, seeing the excited faces of his daughters, pulled himself out of the tough times of the past and said to Shuiqing with gratitude in his voice, “Yes, we all have something to eat, your mother is very generous.”

“Yes, Mom is so good to us!”

“Mom is so generous, I just counted the eggs, Mom used five whole eggs to make this egg drop soup!”

“So that’s why five eggs make so much egg drop soup.”

The five children began to discuss excitedly.

Fan Jin’s eyebrows raised slightly, his clear eyes showing confusion as he looked at Shuiqing.

The children might not know about eggs, but he did. There was no way five eggs could make such a full pot of egg drop soup…

Shuiqing sat steadily, her expression calm, and said to the five kids, “Everyone’s here, let’s eat!”

“Wow!”

The five little ones cheered and eagerly took a bite of their pancakes, followed by a big gulp of egg drop soup.

Mmm, so delicious!

The outer crust of the white flour pancake was crispy and fragrant, while the inside was fluffy and soft, not at all like the rough black bread they usually had.

Swallowing it didn’t hurt their throats!

It was so soft.

So this is what white flour tastes like. No wonder the rich landlords always eat white flour.

The egg drop soup was even tastier.

Fragrant and sweet, even the gourds inside tasted better than usual.

They weren’t bitter but had a light, fresh fragrance.

The eggs were so smooth they practically slid down their throats without needing to be chewed.

“I wish we could have white flour and eggs every day,” Fan He said, finishing every last drop of the soup with his pancake, feeling fully satisfied.

Fan Jiang, a year older, said maturely, “What are you thinking? Having it once is good enough, eating it every day would bankrupt us.”

What kind of family could afford to eat white flour and eggs every day?

The other four kids thought it over and agreed. How could they eat white flour and eggs every day? They didn’t even dare to dream about it!

But tonight’s dinner had so many eggs and white flour pancakes.

And they thought they could finish all the pancakes, but after drinking the egg drop soup, just one pancake made them full.

Eggs are nutritious, and nutritious food really does fill you up!

Shuiqing was initially worried that the five kids might overeat and kept an eye on them, ready to remind them if they ate too much.

Unexpectedly, the kids were more sensible than she thought.

Once they felt full, they stopped eating.

According to the kids, as long as they were full, overeating would waste food.

She smiled and promised, “In the future, we’ll have not just eggs but also meat.”

With the shopping mall, she felt confident saying these words.

The five kids immediately asked with bright eyes, “We’ll have eggs and meat? Is it fatty meat?”

“Rich, oily fatty meat?”

“Big Zhu used to mix rice with pork lard, Er San Si Zhu also had some, it smelled so good, I, I…” Fan He wanted to say he also wanted to eat it, but swallowed his words.

Tonight’s meal was already very good; he couldn’t be too greedy and ungrateful.

Mom and Dad worked very hard too.

Compared to fatty meat, Shuiqing preferred lean meat, but seeing the kids’ desire for fatty meat, she understood.

People who lacked oil preferred fatty meat.

As for rice mixed with pork lard, that was an easy wish to fulfill.

She boldly promised, “Alright, tomorrow your Dad will go to town to buy fatty meat, and we’ll render lard.

We won’t just have rice mixed with pork lard, we’ll also eat pork!”

“Wow~” the younger kids cheered.

The older Yan Qiu and Xing Hui just smiled happily.

After the family split, Grandma didn’t give Dad a penny. Even if Dad got a copying job in town tomorrow, he wouldn’t be paid until after he finished.

But with the family so happy, there was no need to say discouraging words.

Fan Jin cautiously glanced quickly at Shuiqing.

Shuiqing pretended not to see.

There was no money at home, but they could earn it.

She couldn’t possibly not use the food in the shopping mall, right? That would be like begging with a golden bowl in hand.

As long as she used it, there had to be someone to cover for it.

In this family, apart from the gentle, capable Fan Jin, no one else was more suitable to cover for it~

Here, Shuiqing’s family, without even a table, happily ate the most sumptuous meal they’d ever had around a big stone;

Over there, the old Fan family was also having dinner.